Myxospores discovered floating free in the bile of marine fishes from the south-central coast of Vietnam were identified using morphological and molecular methods, leading to the description of 2 new species. Ceratomyxa chauvanminhi n. sp. was detected in 16% (8/50) of cultured barramundi Lates calcarifer (Bloch) specimens, and Ceratomyxa sekoi n. sp. was found in 20% (5/25) of wild largehead hairtail Trichiurus lepturus Linnaeus specimens. The spores of C. chauvanminhi n. sp. are very shallowly ovoid, slightly crescent shaped, and 11.5 ± 0.5 (10.7–12.4) µm thick, 5.8 ± 0.2 (5.4–6.1) µm long, and 5.5 ± 0.2 (5.2–5.7) µm wide. Their posterior angles are slightly concave at 158.7° ± 4.2° (151.3°–164.8°), and they possess 2 equal spherical polar capsules 2.5 ± 0.2 (2.1–2.9) µm in diameter. The spores of C. sekoi n. sp. are 5.6 ± 0.2 (5.0–6.1) µm long, 75.5 ± 4.8 (68.9–90.0) µm thick, and 5.5 ± 0.1 (5.4–5.6) µm wide, with 2 equal, slightly anterior spherical polar capsules 2.1 ± 0.2 (1.7–2.4) µm in diameter. Although C. sekoi n. sp. spores resemble those of species of Myxodavisia Zhao, Zhou, Kent, and Whipps, 2008, characterized by long tapering valves, genetic analyses distinctly place this new species within the Ceratomyxa Thélohan, 1892 lineage. This study contributes to the understanding myxosporean diversity in Vietnamese waters and highlights the difficulty associated with distinguishing between the genera Ceratomyxa and Myxodavisia.
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22 August 2024
Two New Ceratomyxa Species (Myxosporea: Ceratomyxidae) Infecting the Gall Bladder of Marine Fishes from the South-Central Coast of Vietnam
Nguyen Ngoc Chinh,
Vo Thi Ha,
Tran Duc Dien,
Mai Dang,
Pham Ngoc Doanh,
Christopher M. Whipps,
Sho Shirakashi
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Journal of Parasitology
Vol. 110 • No. 4
August 2024
Vol. 110 • No. 4
August 2024
Ceratomyxa
Lates calcarifer
marine fishes
Myxodavisia
myxospores
Trichiurus lepturus
Vietnam